A Cup of Tea
by dragonlord715
Summary: Who played Fall Out Boy at three in the morning? She supposed her neighbor had a punk music fetish. Why else would they be blasting "Thnks for th Mmrs" at this hour? Hermione supposed she would have to lug herself out of bed and politely ask them to stop. An AU Dramione story. Both Draco and Hermione have been misled by others, but will they be able to trust each other?
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to J.K. Rowling and not to me.**

Hermione turned over and blearily stared at the blinking lights of her Disney clock. It was 3:07. In the morning. Who played Fall Out Boy at three in the morning?

She supposed her neighbor had a punk music fetish. Why else would they be blasting "Thnks for th Mmrs" at this hour? Hermione supposed she would have to lug herself out of bed and politely ask them to stop.

Hermione pulled on a bathrobe and walked out to her neighbor's door. Maybe at a less sleep-deprived state, she would be more polite, but at the moment she was pretty annoyed, so she banged on the door a couple of times. It was answered by a tall, lean man with sleep-mussed platinum blonde hair and flushed, raw cheeks.

"Yes?" he asked in a rough voice. The music played on.

"Look, I don't know about you, but some of us are attempting to sleep so they can wake up and go to work in the morning. So would you mind turning the music down?" Hermione asked, hands on her hips.

"Sorry. I'm just….coping." he made to brush his hair aside, but Hermione detected the tear brushed away. Her curiosity and concern grew.

"Why? What happened?"

"I barely even know you. Why would I spill all of my secrets?"

"Sometimes its easier to spill your sadness to a stranger than to a friend." he didn't smile, but Hermione was pleased to see a twinkle in his eyes.

"Come on in." he moved aside to let her in. There seemed to be a recurring theme of green and purple throughout the room. The man gestured to the bottle green couch and Hermione plopped down on it, pulling a lavender throw pillow to her chest.

"Tea?" he turned Bring Me the Horizon's "Can you feel my heart?" off.

"Yes please." Hermione heard the water be put to a boil, as he slipped back into the living room.

"I don't even know your name yet." he said, sitting down on the other side of the couch.

"Neither do I."

"Draco."

"Hermione."

"Enchanted."

"Pleasure." he shook her hand.

"So….?" Draco looked at her intensely, before leaning back onto the sofa.

"I was going to marry her. I was thinking of proposing in spring. I even had the ring and

everything. But-" the tea kettle made a sharp, whistling noise and Draco got up to get it. He handed her a cup and she blew over the steam to cool it down.

"Thanks."

"No problem," he settled back down onto the couch and took a sip of his tea before continuing, "She cheated on me. WIth someone from her _work._ And then she has the gall to say that I was 'too busy to pay attention to her.' Well excuse me, but I'm the one who still has to pay the bills."

"I'm guessing that you're mostly mad."

"Well, obviously. There are some things which I absolutely can't stand, and one of those is cheaters. And Valentine's Day."

"Same here."

"Really? Most people adore Valentine's Day."

"It's so annoying though! If you're going to show someone you love them you-"

"-should be able to do it every day! The absolute sappiness is disgusting! 'I love you beary much!' Well, no I bloody well don't. The chocolates are practically cheating as well."

"Right?! There's less chocolate in the heart-shaped boxes than in the rectangular ones. I know this, okay, I counted!" Hermione looked up to find a pair of silver eyes staring right back into her brown ones. She felt a giggle begin to rupture through her mouth, and attempted to hold it back. He let out a snort, and that set them both off into peals of laughter. They slowly died down.

"It's Hermione Jean Granger," Hermione said, "In case you wanted to know."

"Draco Abraxas Malfoy." he held out his hand again, and Hermione gently took it and shook.

"Well, Draco Abraxas Malfoy, I believe that we shall be good friends."

"As do I, Hermione Jean Granger, as do I." They grinned at each other before clinking their mugs. Hermione settled back onto the couch and placed her feet on the coffee table, getting ready for a long night.

**(A/N: This is a four-part story, with an epilogue as well. I'll probably be updating every couple of days, if I have the time. I hope that you like this AU, and please, please please review! It's what keeps writers writing!) **


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. **

**(A/N: And here's part 2! Here's a note. There's going to a one-sided conversation with a telephone so whenever there's someone saying something and then this: "..." then that means that the other person is answering. **

"Take your clothes! I have to use the machine." Draco bumped his hip into Hermione and gave her a cheeky grin.

"There's like, three other machines besides this one! You could use any of those." Hermione scowled at him, but there was a slight glow behind her cappuccino eyes.

"Well, I wanted to say hello to my favourite booknerd," he smiled, then whipped out a cup of coffee, "And I brought you coffee."

"Caramel latte?"

"Obviously."

"Good boy." she made to pat his head, but he ducked away. Hermione took a sip of her coffee, after dipping her finger into the cream and licking it off. Draco wrinkled his nose.

"That's a disgusting habit." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Get over yourself, McSnobby."

"That's _Mr. McSnobby _to you, Ms. Granger."

"Whatever you say, _sir." _Draco chuckled as Hermione struggled with her laundry basket.

"Thats what you get for having so many clothes." Draco said, taking the basket from her and walking up the dimly lit stairs out of the laundry room.

"Hush, you. We both know that you have more." they reached Hermione's apartment, and Hermione gave Draco a smile and a 'Thank you' making Draco feel lighter than the sun.

"Do you want to come in and have some tea?" Hermione gestured towards her door.

"Is this a thing? Have tea and talk about feelings?"

"I guess it is." Draco ducked into her doorway and entered Hermione's abode. The couch was a pale blue one, with a flowery white design and white throw pillows. It was a bit of a harried room, with a couple newspapers and magazines scattered around the room. There were two bookshelves on the other side of the teak coffee table, and, knowing Hermione, probably a lot more. The whole room was in pastel shades and smelled like lavender.

"Sorry about the mess," Hermione ducked down to pick up a sock on her floor, and Draco got a very good view of he-nope! He steered his mind away from all of that. Draco then realized that Hermione was cleaning, which only happened when she was nervous. He caught her hands, and pulled her up to look at him.

"It's a lovely home." that stilled her arms, and she smiled gratefully at him. They then realized that their hands were still clasped. Both were dropped quickly.

"Well, sit down. I'll make some tea." Hermione pranced off to the kitchen, and Hermione sat down on her sofa and began idly flipping through a magazine. A couple minutes later, Hermione returned with two steaming cups of tea. Draco quickly finished off his coffee, and took one of the mugs. They were very simple mugs, and Draco couldn't help but think that his mugs were so much more interesting. She sat down besides him and angled her body towards him.

"So….read any good books lately?" he asked, and watched her eyes light up like the lights at Christmas.

"Oh, yes! So many! I visited the library yesterday and got so many good ones from Madam Pince."

"She's an utter witch."

"No, she's not! She's a lovely old lady." Draco scoffed, and Hermione whacked him.

"Ow!"

"Sorry."

"I'm fine." Hermione looked at him with a sheepish smile. Draco shrugged it off.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Which books do you like?"

"I really like detective novels, but one of my favourite books would have to be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee."

"I am embarrassed to say that I only got that book yesterday, and haven't finished it yet." she hid her face behind her hands in an adorable gesture. Draco tsked.

"Shame on you, Hermione Granger! I thought you'd read every book in existence!"

"But that would be so boring! One reason why I read so much is because you never run out of new material," the phone rang, and both of them turned towards the kitchen, where it was located, "Let me go answer that."

Draco nodded and she stood up and walked to the kitchen. Draco took a sip of tea.

"Hello?"

"..."

"Go away."

"..."

"Please hang up, Roger, I don't need your scum." Draco sat up.

"..."

"Yeah, right, I know why you liked me." Draco could hear her voice trembling.

"Good_bye, Roger!" _she walked back to him, her shoulders quivering and wiping her eyes.

"Who was that?"

"He used to be my boyfriend. But then I figured out he was just trying to get into my pants because I'm apparently 'a prude'." she shook a little and blinked rapidly.

"Well, he's a jerk. You deserve better." Draco took a sip of his tea. It was cold.

"Thanks." she gave him a teary smile. Draco leaned over and placed his hand over hers, giving her any opportunity to pull away. She didn't.

**(A/N: I hope that was a good part. Please review! It's what keeps writers writing.) **


	3. Part 3

**Disclaimer: All of the characters you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.**

**(A/N: I really like the dynamic of Draco and Blaise being good friends since Draco couldn't have survived in Slytherin with only Crabbe and Goyle for company!) **

"Draco, I didn't realize we got another roommate," a tall, dark-haired man stepped into the room and walked over to Hermione. He leaned over and kissed her hand, making Hermione blush, "Blaise Zabini."

"He's my roommate." said Draco, with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't forget best friend!"

"Of coures. However could I have forgotten," Draco said in a sarcastic tone as he moved over on the couch to let Blaise sit down, "Blaise was in….New York to check out the architecture."

"That's basically my career," he said, smirking at Hermione, "But, I still don't know who you are."

"Hermione Granger."

"She's our neighbor on the right."

"Enchanted."

"And you." Hermione looked at her watch and her eyes widened, "I've got to go! Sorry, Draco, but I'm meeting Ginny for lunch."

Hermione leapt to her feet, and after a moments hesitation, dropped a kiss to Draco's cheek before rushing out the door with a quick "Bye!" thrown behind her shoulder.

"Well, well, well. Has Draco got another 'special friend'?" Blaise looked over at Draco with a raised eyebrow. Instantly, he snapped out of his _ohmygodshekissedme _haze.

"Shut up. We're only friends." Blaise scoffed.

"Well, if its only that now, its definately going to change sometime soon," Blaise stood up, stretched, and put his hand out, "But anyways, come on. You have to show me all thats changed in the time I was gone."

Draco groaned and took his hand, pulling himself up.

"Fine, but you're driving."

* * *

"Brilliant."

"Why were you late?" Hermione looked up and grinned at her friend.

"Hey, Gin."

"Hey, 'Mione," Ginny stood up from the table and pulled Hermione into a hug, "But seriously, what took you so long?"

"I was at Draco's place."

"You never told me you were dating again! I thought I was your best friend!"

"You _are, _Gin. But we aren't dating!" Hermione laughed and shook her head.

"Methinks you want to be." Ginny stated earnestly at her with clear, pleading blue eyes. Hermione only rolled hers.

"Doesn't matter if I want to or not, _he is _just a friend, and I don't want to get hurt again." Ginny patted her hand sympathetically.

"Look, Hermione, I know that you're scared, but Draco seems like a perfectly nice guy, and I think you should go for it."

**(A/N: I hope that you like this part! Sorry that its a little short. Hopefully the ending and the epilogue will make up for it. The story is almost done, with only one more part and then an epilogue afterwards. Please review! It's what keeps ups writing.)**


	4. Part 4

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. All to dear old J.K. (Except for Panic! At the Disco and Stephen King) **

**(A/N: Here's part 4 AKA the final installment. There will be an epilogue afterwards though, so look out for that. Enjoy!) **

"Open the goddamn door, Malfoy!" Draco carefully placed the tea kettle on the counter to cool and leapt for the door.

"What is it, Granger?"

"Do you remember that little half-priced bookstore that used to be here about three blocks away?" Hermione asked as she followed Draco to the kitchen.

"Yes, it was such a shame when it closed down; there was always such a variety there." he slowly poured the tea into one mug, and waited as Hermione added the sugar and milk to it.

"It's reopening!"

"Really? Why?"

"Another owner bought the store and was renovating it. Now they're finally ready to reopen."

"That's great! When?" Draco slowly brought the cup into the hallway, and to Blaise's bedroom. He placed a finger on his lips as he placed the mug besides Blaise's sleeping form.

"It's reopened a couple hours ago, but I wanted to get you before going in." she said in a stage whisper. Draco hoped his gratitude showed in his eyes. Hermione seemed to get it, and gave him a soft smile.

"So do you want to go there now and maybe get lunch afterwards?" she asked, biting her lip. Draco smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Granger, are you trying to ask me on a date?" Hermione's eyes widened.

"W-well….if you don't want to, then-" Draco cut her off and grinned widely.

"Why, I would love to." Hermione smiled back and Draco took her hand and squeezed lightly.

"Would you guys mind getting out and actually _going_ to that bloody bookstore instead of sitting here and making eyes at each other?" Blaise asked crankily, from his position on the bed.

"Of course, Blaizikins. We'll be out in a second." Draco winked at his friend.

"Good. Took you long enough," he said gruffly, with a twinkle in his eyes. They moved towards the door, hands still clasped, "And don't call me that!"

They walked down the road, in heavy coats to fight away the British chill. Draco walked in long strides to keep up with Hermione, who was practically bouncing down the street.

"And here we are!" she opened the door, gesturing with a flourish to the inside. It was like a book heaven. Long aisles of books towered over their heads, as long as lots of "geeky" merchandise. Draco even spotted a Dalek pot. It seemed that the store had branched out, selling albums and CDs as well. They were suddenly accosted by an employee, who handed them both shopping bags and a couple coupons with a quick, "Nice day out, isn't it?" The two could do nothing more than nod, before he was gone.

"What do you think?" Hermione asked, coming beside him and taking his arm. Draco squeezed back.

"It's brilliant!" he grinned down at her. Hermione gripped his hand and pulled them into the maze of shelves.

"Well, come on then!"

Draco was looking through Stephen King novels, wondering which ones to add to his stack at home, when Hermione sidled up next to him.

"Hello. How's your shopping going?"

"Pretty good. I can see that you've found quite a lot that you like." hepointed at the hefty stack of novels she was holding. Hermione shrugged.

"This place is great." Draco's eyes were shining.

"Better than the previous one?"

"Maybe. I mean, have you seen the mugs?"

"Are you thinking of adding to your collection?"

"Probably."

"You and your mugs."

"You and your books." looking at her face now, framed by her wild chocolate curls, her eyes shining and cheeks flushed from the warmth, he felt the sudden need to kiss her.

So Draco threw all caution to the wind, and leaned in, barely brushing his lips against hers. Draco felt Hermione's smile, as she cupped his cheek and brought his face to hers again.

It was only a small kiss, a barely there kiss, but it was the start of something more.

**(A/N: I hope that you enjoyed that. Please R&amp;R! It keeps us writing.) **


	5. Part 5 (Epilogue)

**Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize belongs to me. All to J.K. Rowling. **

**(A/N: Yay! Epilogue! And its done! I hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I liked writing it. Oh, and in this fic Lucius and Narcissa are nice just because I wanted them to be.)**

"I'm scared." Hermione looked at her face in the mirror, scrutinizing her freckles with distaste.

"Why? They're only my parents?"

"I know, but they're so high up in society. I'm just-" Draco covered her lips with his own, successfully stopping her talking.

"You are wonderful, smart, beautiful, witty, clever-"

"Stop it." Hermione blushed.

"-and my girlfriend. They will love you."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I know them. Now come on, I'm pretty sure I wasn't this nervous when I met your parents."

"No, you were worse. Remember how-" Draco crushed his hand against her mouth.

"Come on, Hermione, the car's here." he said, poking his head out of Hermione's window to see the black sedan waiting on the street beneath them. Hermione took a deep breath and the two of them walked down the stairs, out the door, and into the car. She admired the velvety seats and the tinted windows, and Draco took her hand. The driver, Sergio, turned and said:

"We will arrive in approximately in twenty-five minutes." he said, in a deep, gravelly voice.

"Thank you, Sergio."

"It is no trouble Master Malfoy."

* * *

It seemed like a millennia before the car finally pulled into a large manor in Devon.

"Holy…." Draco grinned at Hermione's statement, before leading her out of the car. Draco tossed Sergio a ten-pound note and a quick thank you. The duo walked up to the pathway towards the manor.

"That's a lot of flowers." Hermione gestured to the overflowing roses, irises, lilies and a bunch more that Hermione wished she could name. Then realized that that was a really weird thing to say. _Curse my awkwardness. _Draco didn't comment, only casting her a sideways glance.

"Yeah, my parents both really love gardening. My mum plants flowers and my dad has his fruits and vegetables," they were at the door by now, and Draco unlocked it. He made an open-armed wave towards the door, after opening it, "Welcome, Miss Granger, to Malfoy Manor."

"Thank you, Mister Malfoy, it's a pleasure to be here." Hermione took his arm and looked around at the intricately done paintings on the wall. They were of different scenes of different places around the world.

"Are you still nervous?" Draco leant down and whispered in her ear.

"Not as much now."

"Good."

"You have a lovely home."

"Yes, it's been decorated over the years." Hermione could tell, from the smile on his face, that his family and its home was a point of pride.

"Draco!" a voice boomed down the hallway, making Hermione's head snap up. A tall, grandiose woman was making her way towards them, with her arms spread wide, "And you must be Miss Granger! Pleasure to meet you."

"Just Hermione, Mrs. Malfoy. And you as well."

"Then call me Narcissa, dear," Draco's mother held a regal air about her, and Hermione could see the resemblance, although he was more angles where she had a softer look about her, "Now on to the sitting room. Draco's father, Lucius, will join us in a moment."

They walked into the sitting room, and Narcissa pointed to the couch. Both Hermione and Draco plopped down on it.

"Not you, Draco. Come and make us some tea."

"Mum."

"Go."

"All right, fine." Draco gave a sigh and Hermione's hand a reassuring squeeze before he left the room. Hermione wished she could call him back. Narcissa crossed the room and sat in a pale yellow armchair.

"So, I hope that you enjoy Draco's company."

"Yes I do, I should, right? I mean, I do date him." Hermione was rambling now. Narcissa smiled at that statement. "Well, except for his crazy mug obsession."

"He does quite love his mugs, doesn't he? When he was little, he loved collecting things including stamps, coins and god knows what else."

"I can imagine that. Did he used to make tea for every occasion before as well?"

"Oh, Draco got that from me. My philosophy is usually 'Tea solves all problems.'"

"What's this I hear about tea?" Draco's father stepped into the room and dropped a kiss on Narcissa's forehead, "Lucius Malfoy."

Lucius offered his hand and Hermione shook it. Mr. Malfoy is tall, and it's pretty obvious to see that he and Draco are related.

"Hermione Granger." Hermione shook his hand and Lucius sat in another arm chair.

"Now, Hermione, you seem like a lovely girl. And I hope you wouldn't hurt him on purpose, but Draco's already had a couple women using him. I'm grateful that he's finally let someone else in, but Hermione, I implore you-"

"Lucius! You'll scare the girl." Narcissa cut in. Hermione's eyes were wide.

"W-well….er…. I-I know that I'm going to stick by him for as long as he needs. me."

"Which will hopefully be for a long time." Hermione blushed at Narcissa's words. It seemed like both Lucius and Narcissa cared about Draco a lot. They were both a bit fancy, but Hermione decided it was a good kind of fancy.

"I hope you guys aren't scaring Hermione away." Draco entered the room and carried in the tea tray. He set it down on the coffee table.

"No, I think we're good." Lucius said, clapping Draco on the shoulder as Draco sat down beside Hermione.

"Yes, we're definitely good." she said, taking her cup of tea and having a sip.

**(A/N: I hope that you enjoyed that. Please R&amp;R!)**


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